Robocop Rogue City 🕹️
Robocop was the Deadpool of the 80’s. He was a character kids loved, who was clearly not for kids. Of course, marketing was a bit different in the late 80’s, so not only did they create a Robocop cartoon, but also a huge line of toys, comics, video games, and other tie-ins.
I was one of those kids with Robocop fever. I was around five years old when I first saw Robocop, and my father made me cover my eyes more than once as we watched the film, but by the time the credits rolled I was in love. The satire was lost on me, but the action, music, and one liners were everything I wanted in a movie.
My love affair with Robocop continued and I even had a Robocop 2 poster on my wall as a kid. Sadly, most of the tie-ins/sequels weren’t worth my time, but I did enjoy the various video games and the first movie.
When Teyon announced they were working on a Robocop video game, I was excited. I’ve previously written about their excellent handling of the Terminator franchise with Terminator: The Resistance. They showed me with Terminator they understood the franchise and were able to tell a coherent story with a limited budget. But Robocop is a different beast. He doesn’t run, his story is caked with satire, and I wasn’t sure how well the engine that fueled Terminator: The Resistance would hold up, since it already felt dated just a few years ago.
So, I waited. I waited for the reviews and when they came out last week and were above average, I decided to take the plunge and buy Robocop Rogue City.
Robocop Rogue City takes place between Robocop 2 and 3 and tells the story about a mysterious new guy in town involved with the drug Nuke. Of course, the player takes on the role as Robocop, voiced by Peter Weller and while other actors/actresses weren’t brought back for their roles, familiar faces like Anne Lewis, The Old Man, and Sgt. Reed make appearances.
You can tell a lot of love went into this game. Locations feel incredibly accurate to the films. The police station is spot on, and so is Old Detroit. If there is anything that this game gets right, it’s the atmosphere and setting. It’s spot on.
As I expected, the game seems to use a similar engine to Terminator: Resistance and that’s not a bad thing. The puzzles and boss battles that would frustrate me at times while playing Terminator are less intense this time around and well, this is a Robocop simulator, so you know what to expect. You don’t move all that fast but can take a ton of damage and the kills are gruesome. I found the pacing to be just about perfect and I love the diversity in things to do. For example, between gunning down hordes of bad guys, you may also find yourself running around the police station getting a “get well” card signed. You can issue parking tickets and even help the front desk check people in. It’s these little fun details that make the game fascinating to me and I love that they were added.
The music matches the mood quite well and I was surprised to see them not overuse the main theme from the film. However, your first mission is set to the classic theme and man oh man is it satisfying. I just sat in my chair with a huge grin on my face and thought to myself, “This was worth sixty dollars.”
One of the highlights of the game for me is also how they deal with Murphy’s mental health. He has flash backs that cause glitches and even sees a therapist in the game. It wasn’t necessary, but by utilizing the conflicting emotions that Murphy goes through, along with some flashbacks, it really makes the character feel more than just a walking tank.
This is not an AAA game and it is fairly priced at $60. For fans of Robocop, it’s totally worth it. Just know it’s a shooter more akin to something you would have played on Xbox 360 or PS3. Then again, the shooters these days aren’t all that great, so that makes me happy.
For non-Robocop fans, definitely wait for a discount and only pick it up if you like an above average shooter.